A Game To Remember
by jackwabbit
Summary: Summary: Sometimes Healing Happens In The Oddest Places. Spoilers: A Hundred Days, Shades of Grey. Angst, TEAM, SJ Tension. Not UST, just plain tension. Mild Daniel Whump. TEAM. And did I mention TEAM?


**A Game To Remember**

Rated: PG-13

Category: Angst, TEAM, Gen, S/J UST, Mild Daniel Whump

Season: Three

Spoilers: A Hundred Days, Shades of Grey

Summary: Sometimes Healing Happens In The Oddest Places.

---

Daniel usually didn't get involved in the annual odds versus evens SG team football game. He didn't know who had started the asinine tradition in the first place, but he figured some Jarhead with entirely too much testosterone must have been involved. He remembered last year with an amused smile and shook his head. Jack had limped around for a week after the game, stubbornly refusing any medical help because he knew Janet would lecture him (rightfully so, thought Daniel) about a man of his years fooling around with a bunch of kids half his age in a silly game.

Daniel didn't hate football. He actually rather liked it, since it was similar to rugby, and he'd learned that game well in his travels as a child. He never let on to Jack or anyone else around the SGC that he appreciated the game, but the fact was that Daniel understood it just fine, and a part of him did enjoy a little physicality from time to time. Daniel had recently begun to spar occasionally with Teal'c, and while the Jaffa took it very easy on his human friend, Daniel's fighting skills were improving all the time, and he was learning to enjoy that type of work out. Daniel was reminded of his childhood when he sparred, when he'd had to fight to survive in foreign lands, where some things varied, but the cruelty of children against those who were different was always the same.

So when Jack caught Daniel alone in his lab and began to rib the archeologist about playing in the silly game this year, on a morning when the younger man was in a little bit of a mood, Daniel surprised himself with his answer.

"Sure. Why not?"

Jack's jaw hit the floor at the uncharacteristic response, and Daniel smiled triumphantly. He liked that he could still shock his friend, and reveled in the agape expression.

Jack wasn't sure he'd heard correctly, and asked for confirmation.

"What?"

Daniel's smile got even wider. "I said sure, why not?"

Jack's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Daniel, you do know I just asked you if you wanted to play a football game, right?"

"Yeah, Jack, I heard you. I know what you asked."

"And you still say yes?"

"Yeah, Jack. I'll play. Sounds like fun."

Daniel blinked innocently at his friend's flabbergasted face a few times, then jumped off the lab stool he'd been sitting on and changed the subject.

"I'm hungry. You want to get a bite to eat?"

Jack just stared at Daniel as if he had lost his mind for a few minutes before answering in a confused sounding voice. Jack had been expecting a round of teasing, and he felt a little disappointed that he wasn't going to get it.

"Nah, I'm ok."

Daniel shrugged. "Ok. Suit yourself. Later."

With that, a grinning Daniel Jackson turned and walked past his friend and out the door of his lab toward the commissary, leaving a perplexed Jack O'Neill staring at his back.

XXX

Two weeks later, Daniel wasn't so sure that his involvement in the game was such a good idea. In fact, he wasn't sure if his involvement in SG-1 was such a good idea.

Jack had only been back from Edora for about two months, and the highly classified and highly emotional mission he'd been asked to perform immediately upon his return to Earth had shattered the foundations of SG-1. Jack had managed to knock the NID down a few pegs, but the personal cost to him and his team was high. Daniel was still smarting a bit from Jack's words, and Sam, especially, was walking on eggshells most of the time around their team leader. To an unknowing observer, Sam seemed completely normal, performing her job with her usual efficiency and enthusiasm, but someone who knew her couldn't help but notice the stiffness in her shoulders whenever Jack entered a room, and someone who was looking would notice the way her breaths quickened and her hand gripped her pen tighter every time she had to speak to the Colonel.

On the few missions SG-1 had been on since Jack's full return to duty after the NID fiasco, tensions had run high, and while he was still hurting a bit himself, Daniel was puzzled to see that Sam was angry. Her rage ran just beneath the surface of her professionalism, and her answers to Colonel O'Neill consisted of few words. She said only enough to get the job done. The easy way his two friends had interacted before was gone, and Daniel was sad to see it go.

Even Teal'c seemed to sense something wasn't right between his Tau'ri companions, and Daniel had spied a very raised eyebrow on the Jaffa more than a few times after a particularly prickly conversation between the two military officers of SG-1. Jack seemed to feed off of Sam's negative emotions, and he seemed angry, too. Daniel felt the cohesiveness of SG-1 crumbling from erosion caused by the emotional undercurrents that were ravaging everyone. It wasn't a pleasant place to be.

At first, Daniel had thought the football game would be a good way to bond everyone together again. Some time to just play a silly game might be just what the doctor ordered to fix his broken friends. Teal'c always volunteered to 'referee' the match, which mostly consisted of breaking up any tussles that got out of hand, and Sam had said that she would play this year, too. The game was a co-ed affair, and while Sam hadn't played the previous year, she had proven her worth as a wide receiver in the inaugural game, and Daniel had been looking forward to seeing her in action again.

Now, though, he just wasn't sure. The game was two days away, and he was showering after an impromptu practice session in the base parking lot. SG-1 had been leaving the mountain together, going home for the evening, when a football had spiraled in from nowhere and hit Sam right in the back. She picked the ball up and threw a perfect spiral back to the young man who had thrown the ball. Jack grinned at her and couldn't resist commenting.

"Damn, Carter. I didn't know you could throw like that."

Daniel was impressed, too, but stayed silent, watching his friends. In all honesty, he wasn't surprised by Sam's accuracy and ability-she did grow up military, after all, with Jacob as her father and a brother to help her along the way. Throwing a football was a skill she probably learned in infancy. Daniel could easily picture a toddler Sam with a pigskin under one arm, sporting a perfect shiner and grinning wildly.

Daniel was brought back to the present from his mental wanderings by the acid in Sam's voice as she answered Jack.

"Well, sir, there's a lot you don't know about me."

Jack's head turned at the remark, and he stared directly at Carter without blinking for a full thirty seconds before a call from across the parking lot interrupted his glare, which was being returned in earnest.

"Hey, SG-1! Wanna get a bit of practice in? You know SG-4 is saying they're going to clean the field with us, right? We thought we'd show them a thing or two."

The voice belonged to a young member of SG-5, and before they knew it, Daniel, Sam, and Jack were all laughing and playing around with the young man and his friends. They didn't get much actual practice in, but they had fun, and Daniel was smiling as he drove home.

But now, alone in the shower with his thoughts, Sam's angry remark came back to him. He wondered if she and Jack would ever be right again. Daniel questioned if SG-1 would ever truly be a team again, or if this tension would destroy them eventually, and he was worried that forcing Jack and Sam together on the football field might cause more harm than good. Sam was angry enough at the world that giving her an excuse to hit people, well, it just gave Daniel the slightest shiver of concern. She might really hurt someone out there if she wasn't careful, and Daniel was worried that her hapless victim would never know what hit him.

XXX

The day of the game dawned clear and cold. By the mid-afternoon game time, the air had warmed to just barely chilly, and the sky was clear, with fluffy white clouds only occasionally dotting a cerulean blue background. It was a glorious day for football.

When Daniel arrived at the park chosen to host this insanity, he looked out over the field at all the military types and swallowed a nervous lump in his throat. He wasn't exactly afraid of the for the most part bigger men, but he was a little concerned that he'd bitten off more than he could chew this time.

The game was supposed to be flag or two below touch football, as most of the people involved couldn't afford serious injuries, but it ALWAYS degenerated to what Jack affectionately referred to as 'flackle', or some strange mixture of touch and tackle football that for all intents and purposes was full contact football without the pads.

It was too late to back out now, though, so Daniel stepped out of his car and headed over to the unorganized gaggle of men (and women) gathering on one of the unused fields of the park. He could already see both Jack and Sam in the group, and Teal'c was standing off to one side, with a sort of amused questioning look on his face.

As more people began to show up, Daniel looked up at the gorgeous blue sky and breathed a deep breath of crisp fall air. He was reveling in the frosty nip that bit into his nostrils, and almost didn't notice two familiar voices battling to be heard over the group surrounding him.

"Carter, we need you over here."

"Sir, please. It's only fair. I mean, we do have a lot more women than they do-it's only right to even things out some. I don't mind."

"But..."

"Colonel, it'll be fine. You're just scared I might beat you."

"Well, I know I'd never hear the end of it if you did."

"Be prepared to buy earplugs, sir."

Daniel looked over in time to see Sam sauntering happily over to the 'even' team and as he took in Jack's astonished expression, complete with mock innocent indignation, Daniel smiled. The exchange he'd just heard was so classic Jack and Sam that Daniel thought his friends just might be pulling out of the funk they had been in for so long and that things were looking up for SG-1 at last.

XXX

Daniel's contentment didn't last long.

The game started innocently enough, but after only a few plays, Jack's prediction of the rules of the game came true. Attempts at getting two hands below the waist for a tag to signify that the ball carrier was 'down' quickly deteriorated to trips and falls and then to full blown body tackles, complete with attempts to strip the ball from the person who was unlucky enough to be attempting to carry it across the goal line.

Daniel was enjoying himself immensely, however, and didn't notice where his SG-1 teammates had gotten off to. He even made a catch for short yardage and then evaded capture for several yards, getting the 'odds' team a first down. He was elated at this new fun, and ate up the attention he was getting. When one of his teammates slapped him on the back and said he was doing 'pretty good for a geek', Daniel's smile could've powered the Stargate. He wondered why he didn't do things like this more often, and pledged he would have to get out of his comfort zone more as a new face from SG-9 replaced him in the game and he headed to the sideline for a break.

As Daniel was taking a few plays off, still grinning and only halfway watching the game while drinking a Gatorade, he heard it. A sharp, smashing sound of two bodies hitting together violently. The noise was followed by a deep grunt and the distinct thud of a human hitting the ground. Daniel looked up in time to see Jack levering himself off the ground with an effort, while Sam stood over him triumphantly with an odd little smile on her face.

Sam made no effort to help the older man as Daniel watched. Sam's teammates cheered raucously, and Daniel overheard remarks that one would expect.

"Now, THAT'S what I'm talking about!"

"Damn, Carter, that's harsh!"

"You ok, Colonel?"

The voices overlapped, and Jack made no response. The leader of SG-1 merely stood slowly, and flat out glared at his 2IC. His eyes were full of rage and what closely resembled hatred. Daniel's eyes caught Jack's for half a second across the football field, and Daniel couldn't stop the slight shudder than ran through him at the coldness he saw there.

To her credit, Sam didn't flinch under the gaze. She glared back, viciously.

Daniel's earlier worries came back full force. Those two had some issues to work out, and anyone who got caught in the middle might suffer greatly for it.

Teal'c, as the unofficial referee, watched the whole affair closely, but he chose not to interfere at this point. He merely raised one eyebrow until it couldn't be seen on his forehead, and nodded at the players to continue.

They did. Daniel continued to watch in some sort of morbid fascination.

The game continued, with neither Jack nor Sam coming out of the game. Sam continued to play defense while Jack's team had the ball. It was several more plays before Jack was given the ball again, and as he ran around the corner of his line to try to advance his team, Sam's eyes lit up with a fire Daniel had rarely seen in her.

Sam moved faster than should have been legal. She bolted completely across the field, with O'Neill in her sights. It was obvious she couldn't see anything else. As her teammates converged on Jack's position, she took the lead and reached him first. Sam lowered her shoulder as she got close to him and prepared to fully tackle him.

Jack's reaction surprised everyone on the field, including Sam. Jack lowered his mass down toward the ground, too. These two unprotected humans were hurtling at each other at full speed, looking for all the world like professional football players about to collide.

And collide they did.

Daniel's eyes went wide as Sam somehow got lower than Jack and threw her arms wide to encircle his waist in a perfect form tackle. Jack's hip smashed into Sam's shoulder and both players went down in a heap. This was no friendly 'flackle' hit. This was all out war, and it looked like it was personal. Neither Jack nor Sam had slowed in the least before they met, and they hit the ground hard, in a mass of tangled limbs.

Daniel rushed out onto the field to check on his friends, but by the time he got there, both of them had jumped up and were facing off again. If looks could kill, everyone there would have perished instantly by beholding the visages of Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter.

Teal'c intervened this time, sensing the hostilities nearing a boiling point.

"O'Neill. Major Carter. Perhaps the two of you could benefit from taking a short recess from this game."

Teal'c's voice never rose, but everyone heard what was said in the eerie quiet that followed the brutal tackle.

For a few long seconds, no one moved, but finally Jack broke eye contact with Sam and walked wordlessly to the sideline. Carter followed suit shortly, also not saying a word.

The game continued.

Ten minutes later, everyone had forgotten the nastiness that had just occurred, and while the ball had changed hands a few times, the 'odds' had it back again.

Jack and Daniel were both on the field, and Jack laid out a brief plan in the makeshift huddle. When the men and women broke up, they had a mission to complete.

Jack and Daniel lined up behind and on either of the quarterback, a middle aged SF. As the ball was snapped back to him, the quarterback handed the ball off to Jack, who began to run toward the opposite side of the field, trying to get around the approaching defense. Just as it looked like the other team was about to catch him, Jack tossed the ball backwards to Daniel, who was running behind Jack, far enough away that the defense couldn't catch him. Jack then began to try to push the would-be tacklers out of the way to make room for Daniel to run the ball up the field.

Their plan worked, at least for a little while.

Jack managed to get most of the defenders out of the way while Daniel followed him with the ball. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a lean blonde appeared in Jack's peripheral vision. She had a good angle on Daniel, and there was nothing Jack could do to prevent the hit that would stop his well-thought out trick play.

Jack slowed down just a little to try to intercept Carter, who was slightly behind him, trying to get Daniel. As he did so, Daniel slammed into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Just as Daniel stumbled over his friend, Sam crashed into the foray. She was running full tilt, and as she reached out to try to grab Daniel, her feet became tangled with the prone Colonel's legs. She fell, head first, into Daniel, and the scientist and the archeologist went down, adding their mass to that of the man already on the ground.

As they fell, in seemingly slow motion, a loud crack was heard over the entire playing field. Carter's shoulder collided with Daniel's head, and the brown haired body suddenly went limp, falling to the ground like dead weight.

Jack scrambled to get out from underneath the bodies pinning him to the ground as something sticky and wet spread over his back. He knew it was blood, but he didn't know where it was coming from or who's it was. He squirmed and shifted and struggled his way out from under the weight on his back with some effort, as the other players ran over to help.

Sam pushed herself off the flailing Colonel slowly, shaking her head to regain her senses.

Daniel didn't move.

He lay on the field like a broken toy, blood streaming from a gash on his right temple.

Before the others even had time to sprint across the field to the wounded man, Jack and Sam were in action.

Jack called out to his friend.

"Daniel? Can you hear me?"

The unconscious man didn't respond, and Sam immediately checked for pulse out of habit.

As she looked up and nodded to her CO, Carter's face was all business. She was dirty, covered in scrapes and bruises, and a sheen of sweat made her face shine, but as her training kicked in she put all of that aside and began to assess the injured man in front of her.

To his credit, Jack did the same. Daniel had landed mostly on his stomach, his head twisted awkwardly to one side. Jack looked down on his friend, longing to move him, but knowing that he shouldn't. Jack's eyes met Sam's over the inert figure and he nodded ever so slightly, understanding flashing between the two officers without words. Jack took command of the situation with no effort and shouted an order to the other players, who had gathered around the scene.

"Somebody get one of the medics over here!"

Jack didn't need to yell. Everyone who had seen the collision knew somebody in the pile was going to need help getting up, and the medical staff who had volunteered to watch over the ill-advised contest were already pulling him and Carter out of the way.

The two men performed a quick assessment and after slapping a few Steri-strips over Daniel's still bleeding head wound, they stepped back to call an ambulance to transport their patient to the closest hospital. They couldn't tell now if there were any unknown injuries, and Daniel needed to be moved on a backboard to prevent any damage to his potentially compromised spine and head.

As the entire group waited for the medic to be connected to the ambulance service, Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter looked down at their friend, lying too still on the ground. Both brows were knit with concern, and four eyes never left the face of the wounded archeologist.

When Daniel stirred, ever so slightly, and his lips moved in the tiniest approximation of speech, four knees hit the ground, two on either side of his head, and four hands began to reassure the sleeping beauty that he wasn't alone. As Jack and Sam fussed over Daniel without thought, gently holding him down and not allowing him to move too quickly, Teal'c stepped one giant step forward, out of the group surrounding the drama, and stood over his team. Large black boots were Daniel's first sight as he slowly craned his head around to see where the train that had run him over had gone.

"Uuuuugh…what happened?"

Daniel's voice brought smiles to the entire group, and Jack leaned down to whisper in the younger man's ear.

"Shh…it's ok, Daniel. We've got ya."

Sam added her own ministrations, and tried to explain what had occurred.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Daniel. An ambulance is coming. You hit your head."

Daniel tried to lift himself off the ground, only to moan loudly and lower himself back down again, while Jack's hands gently restrained him.

"Easy, there, Daniel. I think it might be best if you stayed down there a while."

Daniel tried to nod, but winced instead. After a second of pain, he managed an answer.

"Ok, Jack."

"Just try not to move, ok, Daniel?"

"Ok, Sam."

'Well, score one for Daniel,' thought Jack. 'At least he knows who we are.'

As the SG teams waited for the ambulance to arrive to transport Daniel to a hospital, Jack tried to keep his friend conscious and distracted from his pain.

"So, Daniel, you remember how you got into this mess?"

Daniel attempted to growl at his friend, but his voice came out petulant. "Shut up, Jack."

Sam couldn't help but be amused at Daniel's remark, and a she stifled a small laugh.

The noise caused Jack's head to turn, and he seemed to notice Carter for the first time since the collision. For the briefest of seconds, brown eyes locked onto blue, and then darted away again. Sudden discomfort at the closeness of their hands on Daniel's back made both Jack and Sam pull their arms away from Daniel quickly.

Alarmed at their sudden removal of comfort, Daniel moaned a little.

"Guys? What's going on?"

Jack answered with a confidence in his voice that he didn't feel. "Nothing, Daniel. Sorry."

"S'okay."

Sam smiled again at the adorable way that Daniel spoke when he was injured. She simply couldn't help herself. As she grinned, Sam realized just how bizarre this whole situation was. Daniel laid out from a football tackle? Who would've ever imagined that?

Sam giggled again, and Daniel noticed this time.

"What's so funny, Sam?" Daniel's voice was still slurred, but it was getting stronger.

"Nothing, Daniel. It's just…"

"What?" Daniel was truly perplexed.

"Yeah, Carter, what?" Jack scowled as he spoke.

Sam shot a nasty look at Jack before responding.

"It's just that I never thought I'd see the day that I would have to tell Janet that Doctor Daniel Jackson knocked himself out playing football."

As the words left Sam's mouth, every SG team member on the field took a half step back, and forty shoulders sagged. Nervous glances were cast in every direction, and even Teal'c looked perturbed. The CMO of Stargate Command had no idea this little contest was being played out, and at the mention of the name 'Janet', visions of her tirade about recklessness and putting oneself in needless risky situations bombarded every neuron in every skull present.

The players were truly afraid. The wrath of Janet Fraiser was more terrifying than anything these intrepid explorers could ever experience on a mission to another world.

Jack's eyes closed briefly and he groaned. While one of his hands stayed glued to Daniel's shoulder in support, the other ran through his greying hair and over the back of his tired neck.

"Crap."

Sam sighed. "You can say that again, sir."

"Crap."

Teal'c looked down at his three human friends and mirthlessly intoned his trademark. "Indeed."

"Don't suppose there's any way we can keep it from her, huh?"

"No way, sir. You know she'd find out eventually, and if we take Daniel to a regular doctor, there'll be hell to pay."

"Crap."

XXX

The ambulance arrived shortly after the group realized that they were in trouble.

As Daniel was strapped to the backboard and moved to the vehicle, Jack and Sam walked along either side of the paramedics, smiling down at their friend.

When they reached the ambulance, the paramedics loaded Daniel into the back, and turned to close the doors. Jack and Sam both stepped up on the bumper to enter the vehicle.

"Sorry, guys. Only room for one."

Commander and 2IC stared at each other yet again, and probably would have stayed there all day if not for a deep voice behind them.

"O'Neill. Major Carter. I believe it would be best if I rode with Daniel Jackson. You each have a vehicle here, and I do not. I will assure he reaches our destination safely."

With reluctant nods, both officers bowed to the logic of Teal'c's words, and found their way to their cars, before following the ambulance to Cheyenne Mountain.

XXX

Three hours later, Daniel Jackson heard voices. One male, one female.

They were arguing.

"It's not like it's my fault he knocked himself out."

"He didn't knock himself out. You did it."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You cold cocked him."

"I did nothing of the sort. Besides, if you hadn't slowed down, everything would've been fine."

"So this is my fault?"

"Well, it certainly isn't mine."

"Oh, whatever. I'm not going to argue with you. I'm just glad no one else got hurt."

The next words were mumbled, almost a whisper, but even Daniel could hear them as he slowly returned to consciousness. They woke him up fully, but he didn't open his eyes. He didn't dare move, such was the iciness in the voice.

"Like you care."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Watch it, Carter."

"Why?"

"I'm still your CO."

"Oh, so sorry, _sir_." The last word was laced with acid, and the sarcasm in it was palpable.

Jack's voice ground out a warning through clenched teeth. "Carter…"

Sam was too wound up to stop now, though, and she heedlessly plunged on.

"Sorry for telling it like it is, _sir_. Sorry for pointing out that you couldn't give a shit about anyone but yourself, least of all your supposed teammates!"

Sam's voice was growing louder now, and Daniel wanted to intervene somehow to stop the train wreck he saw inevitably coming towards him in the form of Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter, but he couldn't. Some part of him was morbidly curious to see what would happen next, and he stayed completely immobile, listening.

There was nothing to listen to for about twenty seconds. Jack had reacted to Sam's words as if he'd been slapped, and he looked at the ground, blinking rapidly a dozen times before responding. His voice was rough with an unidentifiable emotion when he finally spoke.

"Carter. That's _enough_. I know what this is about, and…well…I'm sorry."

When Sam didn't respond, Jack eventually continued, the words coming out in a jumble.

"Look, I didn't want to do it. I wanted to tell you. Really. I did. I wanted to tell all of you. But I couldn't. If things had gone to hell, you would've been in danger…and I couldn't live with that. I had to keep you safe. You guys are all that matter to me."

A confident whisper answered the uncharacteristic speech. "We could've handled it…""I know that, but…geez, Carter, I just got you back…I…"

Sam's voice interrupted, and some of the iciness from earlier was back in it.

"Did you want us back?"

Jack didn't pretend to not know what Sam was talking about, but there was a hint of anger in his voice as he answered. "Christ, Carter, you think I didn't want to come back? You think I didn't hold on as long as I could? You think I didn't miss you and Daniel and Teal'c and…well…my _life_ every moment of every day I was there? Everything I know is here, Carter! You think I would just give that up?"

"It seemed that way…""I thought I was never coming home, Sam…"

Daniel caught the sharp intake of breath from Sam that gave away her surprise at Jack's use of her first name, and it was several moments before he heard either of his friend's voices again.

"You should've known we'd get you back…that we'd find a way…"

Jack sighed, quietly. His voice was dead this time as he answered. "I know."

"What?"

"I said I know. Holding on was making me insane, but…I took the easy way out…I shouldn't have given up on you, and…I'm sorry…"

"Ok."

"Ok?" Jack's brown wrinkled in confusion.

"I accept your apology, sir. That's all I wanted. I worked so hard for so long to bring you back, and it just seemed like you were perfectly happy where you were when we finally got there…I just…I worked so hard…"

"I know, and I should've said something sooner…I just…I don't know…I was angry, too, Carter…for lots of reasons…"

"Yes, sir. I understand."

"Sam, you're going to call me 'sir' after all this?"

"Yes, sir."

There was no ire in Carter's voice, and the anger that had been bubbling under her words for weeks was gone. While the words were the same as those she had uttered a hundred times since that fateful mission to Edora, their meaning was entirely different now.

The familiarity of the phrase was back. The easy way it rolled off Sam's tongue had returned. The hint of a smile it usually carried floated through the air, and Daniel thought now was as good a time as any to announce his return to the world, especially since he was having a hard time hiding the soft smile that was valiantly trying to scurry across his lips.

The archeologist moaned softly to get the attention of his companions, and Jack's response so typical Daniel almost laughed.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Nice of you to join us."

Daniel's voice was groggy as he answered. "Don't be an ass, Jack."

"Hey! Watch the language, there's ladies present." Jack threw a wink at Sam, and Daniel almost couldn't hide his amazed joy at such a relaxed gesture between the two.

"Hey, Sam. How long was I out? For that matter, why was I out? I didn't hit my head that hard."

"Janet gave you a sedative to keep you still while she did some x-rays and an MRI to be sure you didn't have any neck and spinal cord injuries."

"Oh. Sneaky little doc."

"Tell me about it," groused Jack, and Sam nodded her agreement. All three present had been tricked into anesthesia by the resident CMO.

The sharp click of heels on the concrete floor brought an abrupt halt to all conversation. Three pairs of eyes widened in concern, and looked frantically around the room, trying to find something to focus on.

When Doctor Janet Fraiser entered the room, she walked purposefully over to the foot of Daniel's bed and began to tap her foot impatiently. Her arms folded a medical chart protectively over her chest, and her eyes blazed fire at the three people in front of her.

Teal'c had followed the physician in, and he stood behind her, as stoic as always.

The foot tapped exactly twenty-seven times before a single word chilled the infirmary air.

"Well?"

The silence in the room was complete. Colonel Jack O'Neill rocked back on his heels and performed an in depth analysis of the infirmary ceiling tiles. Major Samantha Carter smoothed a crease in the bed sheets. Doctor Daniel Jackson studied his own chest.

Finally, after several long seconds of quiet, Daniel looked up at his doctor, feigning confusion.

"Doc? Did you need something?"

"Daniel, you know damn well why I'm here. What the hell happened? The medics who took over your care when the civilian paramedics transferred you over to us at the gate aren't talking, and I swear if the rumors of another damned football game are true…surely you wouldn't do something so stupid, Daniel? I'd expect it of the Colonel here, but…Daniel?"

Janet trailed off as her patient started to giggle. This was no manly chuckle, but a full blown, barely controlled fit of giggling. Janet threw up her hands in exasperation and turned to the only person she thought might help her out of the jam she was in.

"Sam? What's going on, here?"

To her credit, Sam didn't even blink. She responded in a perfectly poised, normal voice."I don't know, Janet. I was just stopping by to check on a few simulations I have running in my lab when I heard about this. I'm as clueless as you are."

Janet's expression made it clear how much she believed that, as her eyebrows did a reasonable impression of Teal'c's on a good day.

"Really."

"Yeah, honest."

"And do you always come by your lab dressed like that?" asked Janet, as she pointed out Sam's grimy sweatshirt and shorts. Suddenly, Janet's gaze sharpened, and her eyes raked over Sam's legs quickly before resting on her friend's reddening face.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, Janet?" Sam's voice was laced with honey and innocence, and she blinked a few times as she answered.

"What happened to your knees? You fall on your way to work?"

Sam began to edge slightly closer to Daniel's bed, obscuring her legs from the physician's keen eyesight. "Oh, I don't remember, tripped the other day."

"Really."

A snort pulled Janet's attention away from Sam. Jack O'Neill had lost his battle with control and he was stifling laughter along with Daniel.

Janet kept up her interrogation, but she was losing ground fast.

"Colonel? Something you would like to add to this conversation?" Janet's trained eyes took in Jack's bruised forearms and rapidly swelling eye, and her suspicions grew.

O'Neill merely shook his head, not trusting himself to speak between his suppressed chuckles.

Finally, recognizing defeat when she saw it, Janet heaved a huge sigh and turned to leave. As she did so, a booming voice stilled her momentarily.

"Perhaps, Doctor Fraiser, my teammates were injured while practicing a highly advanced self defense move we have been working on. I have told them not to attempt the maneuver without my assistance, but one cannot be blamed for trying to better one's skills."

As the Jaffa's words rang out, three humans burst into laughter and one shook her head in resignation. As Janet left the room, Daniel laughed loudly with his friends, all traces of restraint gone. He felt the bonds of camaraderie that had been stretched so thin recently snapping back into place, and he couldn't help but think that while football was indeed a silly game, and sometimes you did get hurt playing it, this day had been worth it. A few new stitches and one hell of a headache was a small price to pay to get his friends back.

Daniel's head would heal, and so would his team.


End file.
